


you're onto something, really it's something

by panacea2032



Category: The Other Side (Short Film - emilyamiao)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, Link is in the notes, Misunderstandings, Not Canon Compliant, Rebellion, Revolution, Trust Issues, WATCH THE ANIMATIC FIRST BEFORE READING THIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:27:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29313324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panacea2032/pseuds/panacea2032
Summary: Yun's eyes widened ever so slightly."A rebellion," he surmised. "You're raising a rebellion.""Yes." was Elias' answer, unequivocal and absolute.~OR IN WHICH, the tables are turned.
Relationships: Elias Everstied & Yun, Elias Everstied/Yun if u squint
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	you're onto something, really it's something

**Author's Note:**

> IT IS GREATLY ADVISABLE FOR YOU TO WATCH THE ANIMATIC FIRST BEFORE READING THIS.  
> it can be found [HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvtxgkC-oz8)
> 
> okay this has been in my drafts for WEEKS and because of a wall ive encountered, i never really got to finish it. now my sleep deprived brain decided to keep me from resting in peace by FINALLY giving me something to proceed with asjxasbxsjsxajhxh if the ending seems rushed to you, thats a sign that i am officially in need of more sleep ughhhh
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoy this idontknowwhatthehellthisis my worn out brain cells have concocted. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Yun and Elias are not mine. They belong to the original animatic's creator. The only thing I own is majority of the plot and a few minor characters.

"Ah. It's you."

Elias raised one fine brow in question, closing the door with a quiet click as he hanged his coat on the rack beside him. "You know me," 

The golden eyed male reclined back in his seat, setting off an air of nonchalance around him while giving Elias a once-over. "You weren't exactly as discreet as you believed yourselves to be when you and your merry band waltzed into my bar." 

"Your bar." Elias echoed, his voice trailing off.

There came a noticeable tilt on the corner of the other's lips. Elias momentarily took note of how his fingers absently played with a clay churchwarden pipe, before he found that gleaming gaze trail slightly up towards Elias' hairline. "I got to admit, if you haven't revealed your hair I would've failed to recognize you while disguised."

He tilted his head. "Why so?" 

"Well, your lineage is known by various qualities. Other than the historical reputation behind your surname and your exceptional skill with the sword, there's also that distinctive hue of your mane that's retained only by someone of your kin." the seated man shrugged. "It wasn't that difficult to connect the dots."

Elias was a man of great perception. Reading a person's character after a particular exchange of introductions and formalities was child's play for him. He wasn't one to be easily swayed by first impressions. This was why he was rather hard to fool, even by the most convincing facades. However, it dawned upon him now that in spite of the fact that he'd just met this man in person for the first time, something akin to irk was already bubbling up from deep inside the depths of his guts. There was something about the one-eyed gaze and the unnerving smile on his face that's fueling Elias' urge to drive his fist forward, much preferably to his face. 

"You know me indeed," he began making his way forward, never once tearing his eyes away from the one looking straight back at him. "Then perhaps you know too that you've situated yourself on _my_ seat."

"Oh, did I?" The man studied said desk and seat with renewed and yet terribly mock interest. He straightened back up with his face twisted into an innocent expression. "A force of habit, perhaps. Apologies, I didn't notice."

And yet despite that, he made no move to detach himself from his current position, choosing to lay his folded hands atop the desk-- _Elias' desk_ \--instead.

Elias was sure he saw an empty chair in his peripheral vision, placed not too far on his left. Fighting against his instincts to not hurl said chair across the room was a very difficult feat. 

He sucked in a great intake of air, wishing it to be enough to clear his head and settle his nerves. He was supposed to get this man on their side, not further aggravate their chances of convincing him by letting hostilities and temper prevail over them. Despite his absolute hate to admit it, letting his irritation get the best of him would truly lead them nowhere. As much as he disliked the idea of working alongside this imbecile, even he cannot deny that Yun would be a huge aid to their purpose if he became their ally. That's why he, with a silent sigh, resigned himself into taking the only available seat left and collapsing quite heavily on top of it.

"I assume you already know why we brought you here." He started, trying his hardest to not sound impassive. "Yun, was it?"

"And I assume you already know my name too so there's really no need to get to know each other at this point, don't you agree?" the quirk on Yun's lips never left his face as his fingernails made a staccato of taps on the surface of the desk. "After all, you said so yourself. You brought me here."

_The guts of this man--_

"Very well then," Elias replied, squaring his shoulders and cutting off his own mental remarks before it could escalate into another murderous escapade. "I'll go straight to the point. I'm assembling a league strong enough to take down the council and I need you amongst our forces."

Yun's eyes widened ever so slightly. "A rebellion," he surmised. "You're raising a rebellion."

"Yes." was Elias' answer, unequivocal and absolute.

The lopsided grin fell from Yun's lips, and in its place was a flat line accompanied by eyebrows rising in mild surprise. His disrupted posture was a tell-tale sign of how he clearly did not anticipate a resolute response. The obnoxious tapping of his fingers was brought to a pause as he regarded Elias with a long look, studying him unabashedly. Elias stared back with a blank gaze of his own.

He didn't know how the cogwheels in Yun's brain worked. In truth, he hardly knows much about him at all. He's barely scratched the surface of his biodata. From what he'd gathered, Yun was an only child--a lone son. He was home-schooled in his earlier years, and added to that was the strict, rigorous tutelage and lessons focused mostly on the matters of State. His maternal parent, however, appeared to be absent for reasons unknown, thus leaving him alone in the wing of his father. He was undeniably clever. Many are saying that he bears a striking resemblance to his father, not just his appearance but also his intelligence and tact. Many would even dare claim that Yun would surpass him. Whispers of his name would echo among the public once he was in sight. This was testament to how society harbored grand expectations of him and his future rise to the congress. 

But alas, it seems that even the most promising successor can choose the wayward path. Anwei was almost submerged in a nationwide uproar when the news broke out, telling every citizen of how the famed next-in-line Secretary of State had vanished from their family residence. If it weren't for the council baring its fangs, everything would have been thrown into further disarray. Yun's public disappearance was an unprecedented outcome nobody expected coming. 

But for Elias, this became a door of opportunity. He just had to get to Yun first before the council does.

It took him and his team months to locate him, where they eventually found him at the outskirts as a barkeeper in a _brothel_ , of all places. Elias knew that Yun had recognized them the minute they entered, but for someone who's trying to lay low, he did not look alarmed. Instead he welcomed them like usual customers with a practiced grin on his face, one that Elias was slowly growing to hate. It had been hard to approach him back then without being suspicious. After all, Yun wasn't the only one trying to avoid the general public's view. 

But now, he realized, it appears that persuading him into joining them would be an even more harder task to achieve.

_'You think it's going to be that easy?'_ was the reply Elias was waiting for, laced with enough smugness to set the knight's composure ablaze. Because at the end of the day, Yun irrefutably does take after his father in various aspects, pride and arrogance included. It won't be a surprise if Yun decided to deliberately beat around the bush with his answer, dangling the prospect of his acceptance in front of Elias before ultimately saying no in the end. 

But then, drawing a contrast to what Elias had fully anticipated, the reply instead was "Is this because of my affiliation with the Secretary of State?" and Elias can't say he's stunned that Yun figured that out.

"One of the reasons, yes." he confirmed with a nod. "After all, the person he trained to succeed his position is you."

" _Was._ " Yun corrected firmly, his mask cracking for a split second Elias almost didn't catch it. But he did, albeit barely. An expression of utter contempt it almost casted a shadow on his countenance, but was gone at the speed of light and replaced by a monotonous front. 

"You must know the council better than anyone else outside of it." Elias continued. "Their standard protocols, the loopholes in their security, insider profiles, data plans in the making, devised blueprints, _anything._ It's foolish to dive into a war when you have no idea where to aim, that's why we need you to be the brain behind the league's game plan."

"And if you thought me wrong?" Yun questioned, planting his elbows on the desk and leaning his chin against his interwoven fingers that held the clay pipe under his jaw. "What if I refuse? What if I go tattle your schemes to the higher-ups instead? Surely that would end up with more than one head rolling off their respective necks." 

"You won't." Elias asserted with eyes narrowed in scrutiny. "You loathe the council just as much as I'd do. You'd rather play a role in the schemes directed to their downfall than entertain the idea of joining them."

"I wasn't informed that the Everstieds were also blessed with brimming confidence and clairvoyance."

"Are you implying that it's possible, then? Of you, taking part in the plan to overthrow them?" Elias pointedly ignored the jab at his ego. "And it is not clairvoyance. It's research. It's stupid to fight an enemy unprepared, but it's more absurd to take in an ally you know nothing of."

Yun hummed. "Fair point." he acquiesced. But when he proceeded to ponder over what Elias had just said, he raised a brow in suspicion when he realized it. "However, with the way you phrased that sentence, it almost sounded like you don't trust me at all."

Elias' answer was the very definition of blunt. "I don't."

The breath that escaped Yun so abruptly brought along an uncharacteristic huff of a laugh. His face reflected a mixture of pure disbelief and amusement, with his eyes widened and jaw going slightly slack.

"You're horribly mistaken to think that you'll be able to report us to the council if you decline." his flat tone did nothing to hide the deadly tilt in it. "You used my words yourself. We brought you here. We can also choose to never let you leave this room alive ever again."

Something undecipherable gleamed in the golden iris of Yun's visible eye, the quirk on his lips taking on a dark curve. The timbre of his voice dropped ever so slightly when he dared to question, "Is that a threat, Everstied?" 

Elias leveled that stare with an impassive look. "Depends on how you see it." He crossed his arms, leaning back with his leg crossing over the other knee. 

The room gradually seemed to dim with the arising suspense. The atmosphere felt like it thickened. The silence that stretched was getting more heavier by the second, as if it were slowly gaining a tangible mass that can be sliced by a blade. It was ominous. Like they were placed at the eye of a black storm circulating around them with the promise of complete disaster. The clock was ticking. Something was waiting to blow up, to touch off with a massive blast--like a time bomb waiting to ignite or a meteorite only seconds away from crashing in its descent. Or perhaps it was someone.

Neither wavered in their positions, looking like they've been frozen in time. Crimson and golden were locked in a wordless race. The one to yield first in their resolve will become titled as the defeated.

And it turns out, none of them did.

When Yun realized it too that this would escalate into an endless matter if the tides weren't changed, he decided to alter courses. Reaching under the desk, he pulled out the item that's been hidden away all this time and bringing it atop the table with a loud slam. 

And just like that, the metaphorical dark mist of tension looming over them cleared up in the blink of an eye, gone from existence as if it was never there in the first place. 

Elias' widened eyes zeroed in at the item on the desk, utter surprise dawning upon him when he discovered what it was. 

There atop his desk lied a rapier with a rather very familiar form and design. An Everstied sword.

_His_ sword.

"So, that's your tale." Yun began, the lopsided smile back on his face. "You waltz into my bar with your disguises, you order a few drinks to blend in, and long story short we come to this room, right here and now, and you put this elaborate offer out." 

"Makes me wonder how the State Secretary would react if he finds out that his only son is bartending at a whorehouse." Elias thought aloud.

"He'd be rolling in his grave if he were dead, I'm sure." he cracked a light chuckle. "He'd respond worse, though, if he finds out that I've aligned myself with you."

The knight shot him a deadpan glare, not taking the bait. Yun was clearly mincing his words. He knew better than to buy any of it.

At Elias' lack of reply, the amusement in Yun's face seemed to brighten even more. He's enjoying this. The sick bastard.

"I see where you're going with this, though." he continued, smile still ever present on his lips as he finally stood from his seat. "You believe that if I choose to run with you and help in the council's destruction, I can be cut free from this 'drudgery' of a job and perhaps, be released from the walls of society I've been kept in, is that it?"

He circled the desk, coming to the front and leaning against it. "But what about you?" he asked with a jut of his chin. "Has the mighty Everstied prodigy grown tired of the typicality of a knight's duties that he now wishes to dive into a more colorful setting of a fantastic novel's storyline that tells about, hmmm," raising the Everstied sword in his hands to eyelevel, he regarded it with scrutiny as he pulled it open halfway out of its scabbard. "Let's say a counterrevolution against his own country's leaders?"

"Excuse me?" Elias' face darkened as his shoulders went rigid in his seat, definitely not expecting the shift in the limelight's focus that traveled from Yun to him. 

"Oh don't give me that look. Contrary to what you think," Yun slid the blade back to its sheath, grinning at the expression the other was shooting him. "I do understand where you're coming from. It's not so bad to live a little crazy, after all."

"Your point?" he was getting exhausted of this.

"What I mean to say is that you," The smaller man made sure to put emphasis by narrowing his eyes. "Have a standing in the gentry, especially since you serve direct royalty. You have a name. And with the Everstied name, you have power, which you can use to reach far greater heights."

"I believe you're forgetting the part where the monarchy is overthrown and the gentry is no more, therefore concluding that the Everstied name holds not the similar amount of power it once did." the way Yun insisted on referring to his family line in present tense caused an unknown feeling to bubble deep inside him.

"Ah, yes. But your clan's reputation still remains, does it not?" he slid the sword back to the desk before stepping forward, approaching Elias with a steady gait. "With the right means, the people will listen to you. Even I shall support you then. My father might be furious with me but he wouldn't think twice about taking me back in if I choose to return. I'm his only successor, after all."

Elias' brows furrowed. "Then why bother fleeing when you plan on coming back?"

"I'm not naïve nor blind, Everstied. Even I can see the kind of country Anwei has become. I wanted out of it. But with you," Yun used his pipe to raise the knight's chin, making them see eye-to-eye closely for the first time. "We can take Anwei back. With the power I will soon hold, I can help you. Why bother with a revolution when you can destroy them from inside?"

At the implication, Elias' face fell to a scowl that did nothing to hide his disappointment. So this was it. In the end, Yun _is_ the State Secretary's son. It's only natural that he'd side with them instead of risking his life fighting with a group of strangers he barely knew. After all, he has his life laid out for him at the congress if he so chooses to return. It ultimately solidified the fact that he has been, and forever will be, Elias' enemy. With this realization, he shoved the pipe away from his face with a quick flick of his wrist. "If you are hinting that I should align myself with those bastards you call council, then I must've really thought you wrong then."

He rose from his seat, towering over Yun with an ominous glare before he spun on his heel. "If you're satisfied with the life you claim to be not trapped in, then so be it. I won't stop you." he headed to the door without looking back, pausing only momentarily to take his coat off the rack. After a few seconds of void, thoughtful quiet, he decided to admit. "I admire you, actually."

The grin on Yun's face nearly faltered, evidently caught off guard at the sudden confession.

"That little show of indifference you're putting on is quite impressive," Elias continued as he swung his coat on top of his shoulders. "to think that you're able to hold it up this long."

A muscle under Yun's eye twitched. He'd be lying if he declared that what Elias said didn't hit a nerve.

"But don't forget." Elias finally turned to regard him with a blank look. And for once, Yun found himself uncomfortable with it directed at him. "You may have released yourself from your father's clutches, but you're not free yet. People are searching for you."

"Tell me something I don't know." Yun huffed, before leveling Elias' gaze with a smirk. "As far as I'm concerned, the same thing goes for you."

"I am being hunted, but at least there are no societal expectations chaining me down. You said so yourself, because of who I am, the people will listen to me. But you?" his eyes narrowed to a glare. "The people will learn to fear you too. After all, you are your father's son."

The quirk of his lips didn't fall, but now it seemed to lack the dash of arrogance it once held, making it look almost tight-lipped. Elias knew he'd led his point across. 

"This leaves you with two choices. Return and gain your place, or be dragged back by force." 

Yun crossed his arms almost indignantly. "Frankly, I don't have to make a choice. I can just do what I do."

"Or you can do it with me." the words flew out of his mouth before he could even put the brakes on them. "Unless you insist on remaining in your little cage."

"And if I do join you, what then? Does that truly guarantee my freedom? Our freedom?"

"It will if you let me take you to the other side of everything."

"That hardly sounds reassuring." Yun's eyebrows furrowed in scrutiny. 

With an exasperated sigh, Elias pulled the door open in one swing. "If this is how you like to spend your days, be my guest. I admit, your offer sounded good, but no. I'm not siding with the very enemy I've set on destroying. I think I'm good to go." 

He stepped out of his office in a firm stride without saying another word. He'd said his piece, and was declined. So be it. He walked into the hallway with his shoulders squared and jaw set taut. He was wasting his time here. 

He heard a faint creak of the same door he'd opened, but paid it little mind, dead set on getting out of here and deciding how they'd deal with Yun later on.

His ears had first picked up on light footsteps behind him before he heard it.

"Fine, then."

Elias froze in his tracks.

There was a minimal pause in the air, filling the atmosphere with nothing but complete silence as everything remained in standstill.

Did he hear that right?

"I never actually said no, didn't I, Everstied?"

He _did_ hear that right.

With a slow turn on his heel, he was once again face-to-face with Yun, said man standing only a few meters away from him with Elias' sword in his hands. There was a question at the tip of his tongue. But not a word managed to come free from his mouth when the breath in his throat suddenly hitched. His eyes found themselves locked on how Yun appeared to glimmer under the sunlight that seeped through the glass windows, and how the gold in his irises looked like they're glowing even brighter. His jet black hair was a stark contrast to everything, as if it were a stray storm cloud in the middle of a bright sunny day. He wasn't blind in the face of beauty, and right now, if circumstances were slightly different, Elias would have gladly given Yun that title.

"I'd be the talk of the town if word comes out that I'm mixed up with you." Yun began, raising the sheathed blade in front of him. "I'd be disgraced, disowned--"

_Hunted._ Elias quietly added.

"--by my own family. If not already." his grip on the hilt visibly tightened. But then he looked at Elias with what surprisingly was a sincere look, accompanied by a smile that was void of any malice or mischief--just a small yet genuine curve on his lips. "But I've already decided to join you the second you declared to me that you were starting a revolution."

That made Elias physically halt.

_What?_

"I was assessing you and your resolve." At the question that subconsciously reflected on Elias' expression, Yun added. "A mission as perilous as this one will only garner more risks in the long run, especially if the goal can be effortlessly swayed once an easier way out is offered."

And that's when it clicked.

_"We can take Anwei back. With the power I will soon hold, I can help you. Why bother with a revolution when you can destroy them from inside?"_

That's why the offer sounded almost _deliberately_ enticing. 

It was a test. 

And Elias played right into it.

"In order to rebuild something, it must be destroyed first. But doing it from inside something as malignant as the current Anwei government is way too huge of a risk. The possibility of being overtaken by the council's influence is bigger than the chances of succeeding, no matter the power you have. I'm sure you yourself had realized this." there was that amused tilt in his tone once again, along with something else that Elias could not decipher. "Forgive me if I've offended you earlier in any way, but," he pulled the Everstied sword half out of its scabbard. "You gave me the freedom to dream a little. That was actually enough to pull me to your side."

Elias was stumped. Now he understood. He was right with the assumption that Yun would beat around the bush with his answer. The bastard was fond of finding an amusing way of doing things, that much was obvious now. But he never anticipated this. His mind almost blanked out when it dawned upon him. He had been played. 

The fact that even someone as vigilant as Elias had been unknowingly dragged into his game was enough to cement the fact that this man, regardless if he was an ally or foe, was cunningly dangerous. The rumors did him no justice. He was _very_ clever. Quite threateningly so.

Elias would rather be damned than to admit that he was starting admire Yun on a completely different level.

"So what do you say," The golden eyed man spoke up again, dragging the sword completely out of its scabbard at last with one firm pull, its blade catching on a glimmer of the sun's rays and reflecting it across Elias' cheeks. "My knowledge and strategies for our victory. Now that's certainly a deal more worth taking."

With a grace akin to a swan's dive, Yun lowered the sword straight in front of him, leaning slightly forward with his infamous grin donned on his lips.

"But perhaps, I shall leave it up to you, Everstied."

**Author's Note:**

> okay so uhhh yeah. hope u liked that atrocity i made up. 
> 
> on another note, yall might be wondering. why did yun work at a brothel? welp, all kinds of people go to places like these, especially if they want an 'escape from reality'. so basically, this is one of the best places to gather information AND lay low at the same time. or at least that's what my exhausted brain thinks. 
> 
> oh btw, im accepting requests. comment down whatever kind of shit you want these two to go through (or any character in this fandom) be it diabetes-inducing fluff, or gut wrenching angst, or whatever you like. im passing the reins to yall coz im slowly running out of ideas tbh hehe. ill try my very best to construct all those prompts into stories but dont expect that i can do it right away because.... *glares at homework
> 
> anyways, til the next yunlias content! dont forget to send in the prompts.
> 
> yall can find me too on [twitter](https://twitter.com/_mayaaang_) if yall want a daily dose of randomness


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